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USER’S GUIDE
Pilar, November 2006.
INDEX
Introduction
Pag. 2
Choice of Material
Pag. 3
Before Installation
Pag.4
During Installation
Pag.6
After Installation
Pag.7
Maintenance
Pag.8
Shade Variation Index
Pag.9
Shade Variation and PEI
Pag.10
Ilva Calipers
Pag.12
Multisize Installation
Pag.14
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‰
INTRODUCTION
Ilva S.A. manufactures polished, natural and glazed porcelain tiles at its plant located at the
Industrial Park Pilar, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Since Ilva S.A. started its activities in 1992 it stood out for the excellence of its products
both from the technical and aesthetic point of view and became a world class company
regarding technology and quality of products offered.
Ilva S.A. operates under the Quality Management System based on the ISO 9001 Standard
since 1998.
Our experience in the market shows that as the ceramics industry develops it is necessary to
incorporate new knowledge both for the purchase and for the installing and maintenance of
ceramic floors and walls. The purpose of this Guide is to provide customers and sales
agents with the neccesary information in order to obtain the best results possible.
Be sure to contact us regarding any additional information you might need and visit our site
on Internet www.ilva.com.ar or contact us via e-mail at [email protected] or call to 542322-529000.
We hope You may find this Guide useful to achieve an entirely satisfactory installation.
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‰
CHOICE OF MATERIAL
• Characteristics of porcelain tiles. Porcelain stone has stood out from any other
products existing in the market because of its extraordinary technical and aesthetic
characteristics given by a complete vitrification.
9 High breaking strength
9 Minimum water absorption
9 Frost resistance
9 Resistance to chemical attack
9 High impact resistance
9 Stain resistance
Ilva S.A. manufactures two different kinds of porcelain tiles, glazed porcelain tiles and
technical porcelain tiles.
The surface of glazed tiles is covered by a layer of glaze that provides the aesthetical
look and technical characteristics.
Technical porcelain tiles, full body colored, keep the patterns all over their thickness
allowing a wide range of aesthetic posibilities and three different finishes, natural,
antiqued and polished.
•
Shade variation. In order to resemble natural stones, products have been developed to
show significant differences between tiles within the same shade lot. The level of color
shade variation is the parameter which shows the variation which can be expected for a
particular product. A scale from V1 to V4 is applied, the first showing minimal
differences among tiles and the latter random color differences from tile to tile, so that
one tile may have totally different colores from that on other tiles. A deep explanation
on this subject can be read in the Color Shade Variation Guide included hereinafter.
•
Frost Resistance. At present Ilva S.A. only manufactures porcelain stones and
therefore all our tiles can be installed outside, including areas sobject to extreme
temperatures. It should be taken into account that as the trims have a high water
absorption they should not be installed outside.
•
Wear resistance. A scale called PEI which indicates the areas where a special model
can be installed considering the traffic, has been established for the glazed products.
This scale goes from 1 to 5 being the latter the strongest.
You can find the PEI index of all our products in a table included hereinafter.
Non-glazed porcelain stones are not included in this scale but they have a very high
resistance because of their great hardness and their full colored body. Attention should
be paid only to polished porcelain stones, avoiding abrasive environments which may
cause loss of shine.
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•
Slip Resistance. Only Pietra Patagónica y Marmi Strutturato series are suitable for
exterior horizontal surfaces. Polished tiles are not recommended for wet areas or areas
where water may accumulate.
•
Possible differences between displays and material actually received by customer.
Tiles on display show the material customer can expect. Pattern, shade and movement
can change as compared to displayed products.
•
Sizes obtained from cuts. Both sizes 7"x7" and 7"x14" are obtained from cutting
14"x14" field tiles. Due to this, in all cases where material is not rectified, there might
be small differences seen in the finishes of the edges between the edges cut and the
original pressed edges. This is very important to evaluate before installing the tiles.
‰
BEFORE INSTALLATION
•
Caliper. Ceramic tiles suffer important contractions during the firing process. As they
are manufactured with natural raw materials such contractions are not constant and tiles
of different sizes are obtained. For this reason material is divided into groups of
established sizes which constitute the different calipers. You may find in the
corresponding Annex the tables indicating the sizes of each caliper for each format.
If several models are to be combined it is very important to verify all of them have the
same caliper as otherwise problems shall arise during installation.
Rectified products have only one caliper and they are identified on the cartons with the
words “single caliper”, “monocalibre”, “s/c”, “mc”, or “..”.
•
Shades. Just like with sizes, tiles also change in pattern, color and movement. Such
variations give rise to the different shades. With each new production run there appear
new shades which are identified on the cartons with two numbers and two letters (i.e.
27AB). Such shades shall be similar to those obtained in previous productions but they
shall never be equal, therefore it is necessary to buy all the material to be installed at the
same moment and to make provisions for eventual substitutions to be made in the future
(in the event of repairs in piping which may render floor breaking necessary).
•
Quality. Quality of material is printed on cartons with a “1” or “PRI” for first choice
and a “2” or “SEG” for the second choice. The selection of material is carried out in a
visual way to determine its aesthetic aspect and in an electronic way to verify its
dimensions and flatness. International standards establish as acceptable a percentage of
defects up to 5 % in first choice materials.
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•
Marks. During sorting, material is divided into different choices (first, second and
discard) and shades (majority, secondary and third). Such division is carried out by
marking the tiles with crayons or stickers which are then detected by the packing
machine. For this reason it is possible to find first quality materials with marks because
they may have corresponded to a secondary or tertiary shade (majority shade is not
marked). In order to avoid doubts on this subject marks have been identified as follows:
1° Choice
Majority Shade
1° Choice
Secondary Shade
2° Choice
1° Choice
Tertiary Shade
Discard
•
Control of information printed on cartons at the moment of receipt. The above
paragraphs state the importance of coincidence among grade, shade and caliper
information printed on the cartons. Such control must be carried out when the material
is received in order to avoid problems in future as no claims shall be accepted if the
material has been already installed. If problems are observed do not accept the
consignment and contact your supplier.
•
Control of the surface. Be sure that You are pleased with the material to be installed
and that it has no evident or visible defects. If such problems are detected do not start
installing and contact your supplier immediately. No claims shall be accepted if
material has been already installed. If tiles show color shade variation it is convenient
to spread a 3 or 4 sqmt surface and to mix tiles of different boxes in order to make a
correct evaluation.
•
Installation surface. Be sure that ceramic material is installed on a levelled, flat and
hard surface and that it is completely clean and dry.
•
Adhesive. All our porcelain stones must be installed using adhesives indicated for very
low absorption materials. Special adhesives, of latex modified type should be applied in
outside installations and in areas subject to sharp temperature changes (under floor
heating) to guarantee material adhesion and to absorb the expansion differences
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between the substrate and the ceramic material. In order to have a better guidance you
should contact adhesive manufacturers.
•
Grouts. It is advisable to use flexible materials which should be able to absorb the
expansion differences between your porcelain stone and the substrate. Due to the
microporosity all materials have, it is possible that some grout materials, especially the
strongly colored ones, present cleaning problems which get worse when there is a great
contrast between the tiles and the grout. In order to avoid these eventual stainability
problems we recommend to carry out tests by applying the grout on a piece of the
material and using colors which are similar to those of the tiles. Before applying grout it
is advisable to spread a thin wax coat over the surface of the tiles in order to make their
cleaning easier. Wax should not be spread on porcelain stone’s edges as it may render
the adhesion of grout difficult. As with adhesives it is convenient to consult grout
manufacturers.
•
Back side glaze. Tiles have a white refractory glaze at the back side which is used to
avoid the adhesion of the tiles to kiln’s rollers during firing. Such glaze does not
represent any problem for installation.
‰
DURING INSTALLATION
•
Mixing Effect. It is advisable to work at the same time with at least five cartons of
porcelain stone in order to reproduce the aesthetic effect which was aimed for when the
product was designed.
•
Previous Presentation. Installing procedures similar to those of natural stones should
be used in case of materials with color shade variations, i.e. to combine tile by tile and
verify the aesthetic effect. It is important to point out that shade marks and the
inscriptions on the back side of tiles do not suggest at all how the installation has to be
done. Tiles should be installed in accordance with the above mentioned procedure. If
anomalies are detected, installation should be stopped immediately and you should
contact your supplier as no claims shall be accepted if material is already installed.
•
Joint. Minimum joint recommended in each material carton should be respected, a 4
mm (1/6“) grout is recommended for all glazed or unpolished tiles, both rectified and
non rectified. For the polished tiles, a minimum joint of 2 mm (1/12”) is recommended
to hide the small defects on the installation surface.Your installer will know the proper
procedure for the expansion joints. Joints should be filled one by one never spreading
the grout on the surface of the stone, as this shall cause difficulties at cleaning, specially
with series which have a textured surface.
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•
Cuts. Wet saws are generally used when cutting tiles. It should be taken into account
that when materials with beveled edges are cut the new edges shall not have bevel. Eye
protection should always be worn when cutting or drilling porcelain tiles.
•
Drills. A diamond tip drill bit is used when drilling, one that is specifically designed for
cutting through ceramic tile, marble, granite, stone or other dense materials using a drill
with low speed. It is necessary to keep the tile and the drill permanently lubricated.
•
Adhesive. Adhesive’s open time stated by the manufacturer should be carefully
respected as this is the main cause for the popping up of tiles. Depending on the kind of
adhesive it is necessary to wait for drying during a determined period (in general 72
hours) before grouts are filled. Consult your adhesive supplier for this information.
•
Inscriptions with markers. It is advisable to avoid the drawing of lines or inscriptions
with markers in the front side of non glazed porcelain stones, as it may be difficult to
clean. If necessary drawing shall be carried out on the back side of tiles.
•
Boxes should be kept in good conditions. This is a fundamental requirement which
must be fulfilled in order to be able to attend to eventual claims.
•
Proper care during installation. In order to protect the surface of the tiles after
installation, we recommend to put a protective cover (paper, cartons) over the tiles until
the construction job is finished.
‰
AFTER INSTALLATION
•
Initial Cleaning. All grout and construction dirt should be removed from the surface of
the tiles. In most cases, our tiles can be cleaned succesfully by scrubbing the installaton
with hot water and a neutral detergent. If the grout material remains hydrochloric acid
diluted at 10% or other products recommended by the grout manufacturers may be
used, but work should be done carefully as, in general, this kind of products also affect
grouts and marbles. Eye protection is recommended.
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‰
MAINTENANCE
•
Cleaning. Cleaning of all Ilva floors and tiles, glazed, polished or natural, must be
carried out by using water and floor detergents combined with disinfectants or perfumes
if desired. To make cleaning easier, all spills should be cleaned as soon as possible.
Allow the detergent to act on the soil load for a few minutes before cleaning. After
removing all the detergent, rinse thoroughly with clean water.
•
Waxes. Waxes or top finishes are not recommended as they form a coating that
deteriorates the floor aspect and entraps dirt making it more difficult to clean. If You
wish to apply such products it is advisable to remove them from time to time with the
products marketed by the same companies.
•
Abrasives. It is specially recommended to avoid the use of abrasives for the cleaning of
polished porcelain stones. In order to keep their shine it is convenient to keep them free
from abrasive dirt, such as sand. In public places it is convenient to put carpets for
scraping sand off shoes at the entrance in order to avoid the carrying of abrasives from
outside which may damage the surface of tiles.
•
Stainability problems. All materials, of every and any nature (natural stone, marble,
granite, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, glazed and non-glazed ceramics) present a
superficial microporosity. In Ilva products such microporosity is practically null,
however polished porcelain stone is treated with a hydrorepellent sealer to minimize
eventual stainability problems. Customer may repeat the procedure or apply the product
over non-polished tiles mainly when the tiles are used in areas that are prone to
excesive spills, such as printer’s installations, or when light in color tiles are installed
with dark colored grout or vice versa. A proper penetrating sealer which fills the pores
making the tiles impervious to surface staining should be used. Ilva seals the polished
tiles with the Fila MP 90 penetrating sealer made in Italy. Consult our technical
department before carrying out such application.
‰
Resistance to chemical attack. Our tiles are resistant to strong acid and alkaline
products except for the hidrofluoric acid which attacks all kind of glass or glaze. We
specially recommend to avoid aplication of this acid or its salts and derivatives.
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‰
SHADE VARIATION INDEX
Manufacturers have directed their development efforts to make ceramic tiles that resemble
natural stones and in many cases they have succeeded as it is difficult to distinguish
between ceramic tiles and natural stones.
So, it stands to reason that the more that ceramic tile looks like stone, the more it acquires
natural stone characteristics, such as color, texture and shade variations.
The situation given, it was necessary to inform customer about the grade of color shade
variation he could expect from the product he was buying and then the american Ceramic
Tile Distributor’s Association (CTDA) published the Color Shade Variation Guide which
includes a grading of materials for floors within the following categories:
V1 = UNIFORM APPEARANCE: Differences among pieces of the same production run
are minimal.
V2 = SLIGHT VARIATION: Clearly distinguishable differences in texture and/or pattern
within similar colors.
V3 = MODERATE VARIATION: While the colores present on a single piece of tile will
be indicative of the colors to be expected on the other tiles, the amount of colors on each
piece may vary significantly. For example “that little bit of color” on one piece may be the
primary color on the next piece.
V4 = RANDOM VARIATION: Random color differences from tile to tile, so that one tile
may have totally different colors from that on the other tiles. Thus, the final installation will
be unique.
V1
V2
V3
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‰
SHADE VARIATION AND PEI ON ILVA PRODUCTS
According to the shade variation index and ware resistance (PEI) Ilva products are
classified as follows:
Technical
Characteristics
Series
Product
V Grade
PEI
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Glazed & Rectif. Porcelain
Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus
Mármol Travertino
Fiorentino
Fiorentino
Fiorentino
Paesina
Paesina
Paesina
Paesina
Paesina
Oxide
Oxide
Oxide
Oxide
Pietre Travertine
Pietre Travertine
Pietre Travertine
Pietre Travertine
Opera
Opera
Opera
Elementi
Elementi
Elementi
Elementi
Landscapes
Landscapes
Landscapes
Linz
Salzburgo
Viena
Mármol Travertino
Fiorentino Rosso
Fiorentino Beige
Fiorentino Verde
Bosco
Notte
Platino
Quarzo
Sabbia
Chrome
Iron
Tin
Yttrium
Travertine Beige
Travertine Bianco
Travertine Noce
Trevertine Rosso
Aida
Carmen
Tosca
Acqua
Aria
Fuoco
Terra
Beach
Forest
Meadow
2
2
2
1
4
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
4
4
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
4
4
4
4
4
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Technical
Characteristics
Tech. Porc. ANT, PO or UP
Technical Porcelain
Technical Porcelain
Technical Porcelain
Technical Porcelain
Technical Porcelain
Technical Porcelain
Technical Porcelain
Technical Porcelain
Series
Product
V Grade
PEI
Crema Marfil
Pietra Patagónica
Pietra Patagónica
Pietra Patagónica
Pietra Patagónica
Andes
Andes
Andes
Andes
Crema Marfil
Cardiel
Esquel
Huemul
Maitén
Bayo
Lacar
Otto
Traful
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
-
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‰
ILVA CALIPERS
Caliper
NON RECTIFIED MATERIALS
34 x 34
35 x 35
44 x 44
Nominal
Size
Minimum
Nominal
Maximum
Minimum
Nominal
Maximum
Minimum
Nominal
Maximum
Minimum
Nominal
Maximum
Minimum
Nominal
Maximum
8
9
0
1
2
338.85
339.40
340.05
340.05
340.70
341.35
341.35
342.00
342.65
342.65
343.30
343.95
343.95
344.60
345.25
348.5
349.0
349.5
349.5
350.0
350.5
350.5
351.0
351.5
351.5
352.0
352.5
352.5
353.0
353.5
437.5
438.4
439.3
439.3
440.2
441.1
441.1
442.0
442.9
442.9
443.8
444.7
444.7
445.6
446.5
50 x 50
60 x 60
496.0
496.8
497.6
497.6
498.4
499.2
499.2
500.0
500.8
500.8
501.6
502.4
502.4
503.2
504.0
598.0
598.8
599.6
599.6
600.4
601.2
601.2
602.0
602.8
602.8
603.6
604.4
604.4
605.2
606.0
PIETRA TRAVERTINE, OPERA & ELEMENTI SERIES RECTIFIED
Single Caliper
34 x 34
44 x 44
Minimum
336.5
436.5
S/C
Nominal
337.0
437.0
Maximum
337.5
437.5
LANDSCAPES SERIES RECTIFIED
Single Caliper
S/C
Minimum
Nominal
Maximum
34x34
50x50
25x25
336.5
337.0
337.5
495.0
495.5
496.0
245.9
246.2
246.5
12
25x50
Lado 25 Lado 50
245.9
495
246.2
495.5
246.5
496
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CREMA MARFIL SERIES PO OR UP RECTIFIED
Single Caliper
35x35
50x50
Minimum
345.00
495.00
S/C
Nominal
345.25
495.25
Maximum
345.50
495.50
PIETRA PATAGONICA & ANDES SERIES RECTIFIED
Single Caliper
35 x 35
50 X 50
Minimum
345.0
495.0
S/C
Nominal
345.5
495.5
Maximum
346.0
496.0
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‰
MULTISIZE INSTALLATION
When installing multisized tiles from ILVA Series, please keep the following aspects in
mind:
ƒ
Shade: Shades from different sizes must be compatible. It is recommended to combine
same shades and production runs. In the case this results to be imposible, control the
shading variation of the tiles previous to the installation.
ƒ
Joint: in non-rectified series, the caliper in the smaller sized tile must be: the same or
smaller than the caliper in the bigger size. If this equation is not possible, please don’t
combine the sizes.
Examples:
7”x7” caliper 0, combining with 14”x14” caliper 0;
7”x7” caliper 0, combining with 14”x14” caliper 1;
Don not combine 7”x7” caliper 1, with 14”x14” caliper 0.
Recommended Joint
(Min. 1mm – Max. 5mm)
Same caliper
When smaller size has a smaller
caliper than the bigger tile
Min 1mm
Max 3.5mm
Min 2mm
Max 5mm
In Rectified Series, Ilva recommends a joint of 2mm.
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